Windows – How to change dns name on domain controller

active-directorydomain-controllerwindowswindows-server-2012

I am in the process of trying to clean up after a domain rename gone bad. The rename was from xxx.com to hq.xxx.com

My current problem is that I cannot login to the DC (only DC on network) Logging into other computers is not a problem. The error is "The security database on the server does not have a computer account for this workstation trust relationship." The good news is that all other computers on the network allow logins fine.

I have a VM on the same physical machine with windows 2012 as a member server that I installed Remote Management on. I can run Active Users & Computers, when I look under Domain Controllers I see the DC, but the "DNS Name:" is set to server.xxx.com, instead of server.hq.xxx.com. There appears to be no way to either;

a) Change the DNS Name:, or
b) Manually add another server with the right name.

Hence my question, How can I change the DNS Name on a Windows 2012 domain controller?

Additionally, am I barking up the wrong tree? Is there something else I should look at?

I guess someone got their shorts in a bunch because I did not specify all of the things that I have researched and tried.

I spent a number of hours manually changing the DNS, removing LDAP and KErberos entries linking the DC to the old (xxx.com) domain. After restarting the servers, when I couldn't get logged in to the DC I searched for other examples of that problem, I couldn't find any relevant examples. I then searched for, found & installed the remote management tools for 2012 domains, on the VM containing a member server. That is when I found that the DNS Name defined above was incorrect. I searched for this issue, to no avail. I specifically looked at all of the items in ServerFault that might be related, and found nothing useful.

Best Answer

Domain Controllers retain their original FQDN after a rename. There is a specific procedure that you must follow to correct this after a domain rename, it's outlined in this TechNet article: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc794925(v=ws.10).aspx

You can use this procedure to rename domain controllers after a domain rename operation.The Domain Name System (DNS) host names of the domain controllers in the renamed domains do not change automatically as a result of the domain rename operation. In other words, the DNS suffix in the fully qualified DNS host name of a domain controller in the renamed domain continues to reflect the old domain name. You can change the DNS host name of domain controllers in a renamed domain at a later time by using a special procedure.

Modification of the computer name causes updates to the DNS and Active Directory databases. The computer performs these updates automatically. After the updated data propagates to the DNS servers and Active Directory domain controllers that a client computer uses, the client computer can locate and authenticate to the renamed domain controller computer. However, DNS and Active Directory replication latency (the time that it takes for the name change to replicate throughout the databases) might cause a temporary inability of clients to locate or authenticate the renamed domain controller. Therefore, renaming a mission-critical server, such as a domain controller, requires that you follow a computer rename preparation procedure before you rename the domain controller. This preparation procedure ensures that there will be no interruption in the ability of client computers to locate or authenticate the renamed domain controller. For more information about how to rename a domain controller, see Renaming a Domain Controller.

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